Insurance In The News

Is it the right time to shop for Auto Insurance?

Did you know that car insurance rates constantly fluctuate and vary each month? Find out when you should shop for new quotes.

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In addition to your input, rates are based on one car and one driver with no traffic violations and state minimum coverage. Rates assume the driver is an employed college graduate and a homeowner with no lapse in coverage. Vehicle is assumed to be garaged on premises and used primarily for commuting and is driven 15,000 miles annually. These rates also include a percentage discount to reflect an aggregate of commonly available carrier discounts. Rates displayed are estimates and are not guaranteed.

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Rates are moving up!

Lock in rates before they rise.

$101a month

Drivers like you are paying an average of $101/mo right now.

How we calculate these rates:

How we calculate these rates:X

In addition to your input, rates are based on one car and one driver with no traffic violations and state minimum coverage. Rates assume the driver is an employed college graduate and a homeowner with no lapse in coverage. Vehicle is assumed to be garaged on premises and used primarily for commuting and is driven 15,000 miles annually. These rates also include a percentage discount to reflect an aggregate of commonly available carrier discounts. Rates displayed are estimates and are not guaranteed.

Rates are on the rise for drivers like you! If you are currently paying more than $101/mo, now may be the perfect time for you to lock in low rates before they rise again.

Give our free customized quote comparison tool a test drive to see just how much your rates can be reduced!

Insurance premium increases expected this year

The cost of premiums for auto insurance, home insurance and life insurance is expected to rise between 3 percent and 4 percent in 2009.

The cost of premiums for auto insurance, home insurance and life insurance is expected to rise between 3 percent and 4 percent, according to the insurance industry's trade group, the Insurance Information Institute.

On average, a typical auto insurance premium will rise 4 percent to $875 this year, the trade group estimated. Homeowners insurance policies will increase on average by 3 percent to $841.

The industry is looking to recoup losses in the stock and bond markets over the past year, where insurance companies typically invest the earnings from premiums.

As the stock market has tumbled - down by about 40 percent from the all time high of more than 14,000 in October of 2007 - insurance companies now need to raise premiums.

That's the way insurance companies do business, explained Terri Vaughan, chief executive of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.

"If your expectations for future investment income are lower, that's going to affect premiums," Vaughan said, according to USA Today.

For average term life insurance policies, industry executives predict rates will be 5 percent to 10 percent higher next year, the newspaper reported.